


Calm Sea

by greygerbil



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: AU: Same-Sex Marriage Allowed, Hiding Injuries, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 08:49:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18869827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greygerbil/pseuds/greygerbil
Summary: Stannis returns victorious but wounded from the fights of the Greyjoy Rebellion. Unwilling to let most people see his pain, he is especially grateful to find comfort in the arms of his lover, Davos.





	Calm Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Plaid_Slytherin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/gifts).



Stannis would not have worn full armour to the festivities at court if he’d had a choice, but there were some customs you could not bow out of for any good sense. He told himself he was not badly hurt enough to claim health as a reason to duck from them, though with the metal clasped tight around his body pressing down on his bandaged wounds, and his weight shifted uncomfortably left because he had wrenched his right food stumbling on deck outside the harbour after an unexpected wave had gripped his ship, he was feeling light-headed and faint. The heat boiling them all alive did little to alleviate the discomfort.

The Greyjoys were brought to heel and the royal fleet had returned to King’s Landing victorious. As master of ships, Stannis of course had to be present for the celebration, even as he had just stepped off the very boats that had earned them this glory, being slower to return than his brother Robert, since he brought the main thrust of the fleet with him.

But Robert was never not the centre of attention, and while Stannis was not usually in the slightest happy to see his brother make a drunken fool out of himself yet again, or chase after some maid in full view of the court and his wife, today these tendencies worked in his favour. Though it was only nearing midnight when he left, he was not kept by anyone.

He opened the door to his chambers and almost jumped when he found a shape sitting in the shadows of the canopy on his bed.

“Good evening, sire,” Davos said.

Stannis’ shoulders sank.

“Davos?” He asked. “I didn’t know you had returned, too. Did _Black Betha_ not bring up the rear?”

“The wind favoured us, my lord. The whole fleet is at anchor now.”

Stannis closed the door behind himself.

“You could have come to the feast.”

“I only arrived at the Red Keep an hour ago. Besides, the guests seemed a bit too high-born for the likes of me.”

“You are a knight. You don’t need to hide.”

“Yet hiding was most of what I did during the actual fighting,” Davos said with a slim smile.

On Stannis’ orders, that was. Davos was no soldier, he had always made that clear. While he would have made a passable man at arms and had steered the _Black Betha_ well, Stannis had more often used him instead to spy on their enemies, driving around their islands in a small, sleek boat cutting through the night and returning with the breeze, informing them of all movements of the Greyjoys and allowing the fleet to take their enemies unaware. A sailor who could outmanoeuvre the Krakens and pass them by unnoticed was worth many a good knight in the sort of fight they had just fought.

“With good reason,” Stannis gave back.

“Indeed. But it was you, his Highness, and Eddard Stark who struck the decisive blows. It was a feast for you.” Davos cocked his head. “Would you like me to help you take off your armour?”

Stannis nodded his head. It would have been a squire’s job, but he preferred Davos to do it. His touch was familiar and welcomed and long-missed, even if it was as methodical as it was now, working on the leather straps that kept the pieces of iron in place. Stannis tried not to wince as they dragged against his bandaged wounds. He was tired enough to collapse onto the bed, aching all over, but to say so would have meant that Davos would likely take his leave, and he did not wish that, either. They had travelled on separate ships and before that, they had been busy in battle. It was a long time to spend with only the memory of Davos’ mouth on his.

“You should have come upstairs sooner,” Davos said, tearing him from his thoughts. His fingers lingered over the frayed edge of a bandage on Stannis’ arm. A pink stain on the cloth showed the wound must have opened up again.

“My brother wished me to be present,” Stannis only said. He knew it would have been more sensible to do what Davos said, but he had his duties – and his pride.

Davos knelt to take off the lower parts of his armour. Davos sitting in front of him on his knees was a shamefully tempting image, but in fact Stannis rued mostly that he was too exhausted now to truly enjoy it.

“Perhaps he would have released you if you had told him of the extent of your injuries...”

“I’d rather only the maesters knew.” Them and Davos. He was the only one he had trusted with the information. “I can’t abide a hundred people asking me the same questions every day, and Robert has never been good at keeping secrets.”

Besides, being injured and weakened at a court where you held a coveted council position and with no heir to your lands, you only invited every courtier with ambitions to circle like a vulture above your weakened body. Stannis doubted he would succumb to his injuries, but he could do without that added annoyance.

His nerves flared as Davos’ hands reached his skin to take off sweat-soaked, rumpled clothes that had protected his flesh from chafing against the metal. He stood naked but for his underclothes before his lover and Davos searched his bruises and wounds with gentle hands.

“I will bandage your arm anew,” Davos said, after a moment. “Everything else seems fine for now.”

Stannis nodded, barely hearing his words. How could his simple touch be so soothing? Stannis had never figured himself someone who enjoyed to be coddled and in fact had often found it uncomfortable to be too close to people, but Davos’ presence was the first thing in days that gave him any respite. In fact, he wished he could keep him in his bed all night. He sat down heavily on the side of the straw-filled mattress as Davos vanished into the adjacent washing room and returned second later with linen and water. Stannis wondered if he’d had the servants prepare it in anticipation of Stannis’ return. He had always admired Davos’ quiet practicality and foresight. It was so little taught to most children from higher houses. Stannis hoped that one day, he could pass on similar values to his own heirs. He also hoped that Davos would have more than a simple guardian’s role in raising them...

His half-formed daydreams dispersed as Davos ripped off the bloodied bandage with little preamble. Stannis hissed.

“My apologies, sire,” Davos said.

Stannis gave only a wordless grunt in response. There wasn’t much Davos could do to keep this from hurting, and in the end, he’d rather he’d do it quickly.

Davos washed the wound and tied the new cloth firmly around his arm. After cleaning his own hands in the wooden bowl, he looked up at Stannis.

“Have you need of me for anything else, my lord? Otherwise, I will leave you to rest.”

Stannis could think of no reason to keep him here and his eyes were already falling shut. However, the thought of separating so quickly after he had only gotten a few cursory touches from Davos was miserable.

“Would you stay the night?” he blurted out, before his pride could catch up with him.

Davos looked surprised.

“Always, sire, but – I don’t think you’re in any state to...”

He let the sentence peter out politely. Stannis suppressed a sigh. It was natural Davos would assume that was why he would need him here. After all, was that not why noble couples slept together? Procreation and entertainment over, they usually split into their separate chambers. Wasn’t it foolish to ask Davos to lie next to him when he had a soft bed he could spread out in waiting in his own chamber? They had never done this before.

“I didn’t imply I was. I merely asked for your presence, didn’t I?” he said, looking off at the wall.

Mercifully, Davos was smart enough to fill in the blanks Stannis had left, the questions he wouldn’t dare ask. When Stannis glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, Davos smiled.

“If you wish, I’d be happy to remain.”

Stannis watched Davos undress himself. It was he who would carry most of the burden of a discovered affair, Stannis knew. A noble man, especially one of Robert’s line, was expected to have such dalliances, but Davos might have trouble finding a wife or husband of noble standing afterwards, having already so much speaking against him. However, Stannis had a plan how to divert undue attention and gossip from Davos that he had been hatching for a while.

“My brother promised me a reward for my efforts,” he said, as Davos slid under the blanket with him. He closed in on Stannis as much as the wounds allowed, wordlessly having read his desires, or, as Stannis hoped, perhaps also hungry for Stannis’ touch himself.

“Are you going to ask for Storm’s End?” Davos guessed.

“His mind is made up on that accord,” Stannis muttered. “Besides, I have other concerns that are more pressing at the moment. I was going to ask him to let me make my own choice about my marriage.”

“Oh.” Davos’ face fell, as did Stannis’ heart at the expression, until Davos continued, failing to sound neutral: “Have you gotten an offer from someone?”

“Some, but none sparked my interested. You did,” Stannis said, deciding that much like ripping off the old bandage, he’d rather know quickly if he’d be rebuffed so the pain would come all at once and not in stuttering increments.

However, Davos’ eyes lit up.

“Truly? But I’m-”

“I’m well aware of the differences in status between us. It’s not going to be the connection Robert wants, but that is why I will choose it for a reward.”

Davos pushed himself up on his elbow and kissed Stannis deeply. Ignoring all aches, Stannis turned towards him, closing him in his arms. For that one blessed moment, Stannis didn’t feel any pain at all.


End file.
